Fans of drifting, street and police cars will be happy…
Yes, the Scalextric Drift 360 set is back and – together with a brand new hypercar, two police cars and some tasty classic street cars – that means Scalextric enthusiasts who prefer drifting, cruising or chasing are going to have an excellent year.
You can browse and pre-order all the 2021 Scalextric products here: www.jadlamracingmodels.com/scalextric/2021-releases
In my first 2021 catalogue blog post, I took a quick look at some of the highlights – now I’m going to dig much deeper through each of the categories and including some background from the Scalextric team. A big thank you to Martyn and Simon for taking time out to talk to me.
Police Cars
The BMW 330i Police car is fitted with working siren and flashing lights and – because of the internal electronics – has blacked-out windows. Even so, for those of us who regularly use the UK motorway network, it’s a bit too realistic! The BMW 330i patrol cars used by UK police forces are fitted with a 3-litre straight-six engine that delivers 231 bhp and 0-60 acceleration in under six seconds. That’s quick enough to worry most of the cars in the Scalextric catalogue. Expected in the next couple of months, you can pre-order the BMW police car here.
For classic 70s and 80s police chases, you can now have the option of the new Jaguar XJS Police Edition. This is a very classy police car. The Scalextric model is equipped with a flashing blue light, no siren, but has a full-detail interior. The 3.6-litre XJS was used by a number of UK police forces, especially for motorway speed enforcement. Due in the summer / early autumn, you can pre-order the Jaguar XJS Police Edition here.
Lotus Esprit S2 World Championship Commemorative Model
An iconic 1970s supercar, the Lotus Esprit was the handiwork of Giorgetto Giugiaro – one of the greatest Italian car designers. The Esprit was the first of Guigaro’s angular ‘folded paper’ designs that also included the DeLorean DMC, BMW M1, Lancia Delta and the VW Golf Mk1.
This S2 is a slightly different car to the James Bond S1 Esprit in the TV and Film section. The Lotus Esprit Series 2 was a 1978 update with intake ducts behind the rear quarter windows, a small front spoiler and different rear lights. A special edition run of approximately 300 cars were produced to mark winning the 1978 Formula One World Championship. Sometimes known as the JPS Esprit, this World Championship Commemorative Model is the car produced by Scalextric. Although these Esprits were finished in black & gold, there was never any JPS branding – the cigarette company had parted with Lotus at the end of the season.
The Lotus Esprit World Championship Commemorative Model is scheduled for release at the end of the year. You can pre-order it here.
Chevrolet Camaro Z/28
Not only does the 1979 Camaro Z/28 make a wonderful-looking race car, it’s also a completely awesome street car. The silver livery Scalextric have chosen is a classic for this car – the orange and red stripes and Z28 logo commonplace on plenty of prized examples. And the deep rumbling of that V8… did you know it’s an engine sound option in the Spark Plug app? Very cool. The model is fitted with a sidewinder short-can motor and has a full interior to match the earlier Scalextric muscle cars. This High Detail car is Digital Plug Ready (DPR) for easy conversion to digital using the C8515 Digital plug. It also has working front and rear lights. The silver Camaro is due in the summer / early autumn and can be pre-ordered here.
Pagani Huayra BC Roadster
The Pagani Huayra BC Roadster is an exciting and stylish addition to the Scalextric Super Resistant range for 2021. The real Huayra is a low-volume Italian hypercar – only 100 were produced of the original version and another 100 roadsters following-on. The BC is a modified track-focused version – twenty were manufactured and sold instantly at £2 million each. The BC Roadster is powered by a 789 bhp 6-litre twin-turbo Mercedes V12, giving a 0-60 time of 2.2 seconds and a top speed of 238 mph. Aerodynamic downforce is aided by an F1-style blown-diffuser.
The beauty of Scalextric is that we can afford our own 1:32 scale Huayra BC Roadster and drive it hard on track – racing, cruising around or being chased by the police. Although the car is Super Resistant, it has plenty of detail. Three versions of the BC Roadster will be released in 2021: a red car in the Street Cruisers set (pre-order here) and a yellow solo car (pre-order here), both available in the summer, plus a mouth-watering Drago Viola Edition (from the game CSR2) available at the end of the year. You can pre-order that third car here.
The Scalextric Huayra model has an inline mounted short-can motor and is Digital Plug Ready (DPR) for easy conversion to digital racing. Lights are not fitted in these Super Resistant cars and the windows are blacked-out.
Scalextric Rasio C-20
Alongside the Huayra in the Street Cruisers set is Scalextric’s very own hypercar, the Rasio C-20. If you don’t know, ‘Rasio’ means racing in Welsh. The Super Resistant and Digital Plug Ready model first appeared in 2020 and is available this year as the yellow set car and a new red solo car. The original blue & gold and Joker-inspired cars are still in the catalogue. The Rasio is a neat, robust and fun little car – ideal for younger racers and beginners. The red solo car is arriving in the next couple of months (pre-order here) and the set will be released in the summer / early autumn (pre-order here).
Drift 360 Set
I am so excited to see drifting back in the Scalextric catalogue! The new Drift 360 set includes two stunning Ford Mustangs, adapted with a new chassis, guide and electronics to allow 360-degree rotation and lots of drifting action onto the borders that surround the entire track. The new-style powerbase has also been re-tooled so it sits the other side of a border piece. Although the liveries are fictitious, the sponsors on the Mustangs are real – a new theme for Scalextric. Because of the 360-mechanism, the cars are not Digital Plug Ready – these are specialist drift models. Drifting offers yet another game-play option and is an enormous amount of fun. The set is scheduled for a spring release and can be pre-ordered here.
Don’t forget you can browse and pre-order all the 2021 Scalextric products here: www.jadlamracingmodels.com/scalextric/2021-releases